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Boeing 747

widebody airliner family (1968–2023)

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The Boeing 747 is a large passenger airplane that was first introduced in 1968 and remained in production for over 50 years until 2023. It was one of the first of its kind—a widebody jet capable of carrying hundreds of passengers on long international flights—which made it a major innovation in commercial aviation.

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The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023.

It was conceived in response to the demand of Pan Am for a jet 2+1⁄2 times the size of the 707, which had been introduced in October 1958, to reduce the airline's seat cost by 30%. The design team was led by Joe Sutter, who left the 737 development program in 1965 to design the 747. In April 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 Boeing 747-100 aircraft, and in late 1966, Pratt & Whitney agreed to develop the JT9D engine, a high-bypass turbofan. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the custom-built Everett Plant, the world's largest building by volume. The 747's first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified in December 1969. It entered service with Pan Am on January 22, 1970. The 747 was the first airplane called a "Jumbo Jet" as the first wide-body airliner.